Nanocomposites and nanomaterials

Effect of acrylic gel nanofertilizer on the state of soil environment
Kalinichenko K.V.1, Nikovskaya G.N.1, Oliinyk V.O.2
1 Colloidal Technologies of the Natural Systems Department, F.D. Ovcharenko Institute of Biocolloidal Chemistry, Natl. Acad. of Sci. of Ukraine. Vernadsky Blvd, 42, Kiev-03680, Ukraine. 
E-mail: KirKa_@bigmir.net
2 Physical and chemical geomechanic department, F.D. Ovcharenko Institute of Biocolloidal Chemistry, Natl. Acad. of Sci. of Ukraine. Vernadsky Blvd, 42, Kiev-03680, Ukraine.

One of the main leaning of the modern land management is minimizing nutrient losses in fertilization and increasing crop productivity. Today nanofertilizers or nano-encapsulated nutrients attract a lot of attention due to possibilities of boost of plant native functions and regulation of plant growth. In this case pH-sensitive acrylic hydrogel can serve as a matrix for including of plant nutrients and can be a suitable form of soil fertilizers or soil substrates.
The aim of our investigation is formation of nanocomposites on the base of pH-sensitive acrylic hydrogel with immobilized bioelements and estimation of their influence on soil system.
Nanoparticles of essential metal compounds synthesised by cenosis of microorganisms were used as a source of bioelements for gel fertilizer formation.
The addition of the nanocomposite on the base of pH-sensitive hydrogel to soil leads to improvement of soil environment mainly due to enhancement of aeration. The hydrogels with immobilized nano-sizing bioelements have no significant effect on soil microbiota.
Under the action of plant exudates containing complex metabolites mixture with chelating properties to metals (organic acids, heteropolysaccharides etc) nano-encapsulated nutrients in hydrogel matrix can be gradually released from immobilized state and in chelated forms assimilate by plants.
Soil enrichment with nanocomposite gel fertilizers resulted in a faster growth of plants and substantial harvest increase (5 – 10 times) as compared with control (unfertilized) soil. Besides, there were no phytophtoroz (blight) symptoms in plants grown both in control and fertilized soil samples.